Watercraft mooring device



J. S. L. KING WATERCRAFT 'MOORING DEVI GE Sept. '2, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1967 INVENTOR JOHN S. L. KlNG BY J. W

Afiorney S p 2, 1969 J. 5.1.. KING 3,464,214

WATERCRAFT MOORING DEVICE Filed Jan. 23, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JOH N S. LKING BY P90 441- gm Arfcrney United States Patent 3,464,214 WATERCRAFT MOORING DEVICE John S. L. King, 186 Glenview Ave., Toronto 12, Ontario, Canada Filed Jan. 23, 1967, Ser. No. 611,111 Int. Cl. E021) 3/22; B63b 21/04; F16f 9/54 U.S. Cl. 61--48 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A boat mooring device which consists of a tensioned cable fixed at its upper end at a point above the water on which the boat is floating, the tension being provided by a spring or weight secured to its lower end. A mooring line for the boat is secured to a ring which is, in turn, secured to the tensioned cable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to boat mooring apparatus which acts as a snubber and more particularly relates to a device to be used for boat mooring which permits the effective dissipation of energy imparted to the boat through movement of the water.

Description of the prior art External forces imparted by movement of the water consequent on the winds, formation of waves or currents produced by passage of other craft act on a moored boat and cause it to move by transmission of energy to the boat. Once moving the boat will continue to move until the required energy has been used up or dissipated. Under continuing influence by an external force more energy will be required than can be dissipated by motion of the boat through the water. As a result a boat moves to the full extent of its mooring line or against the dock and its energy is used up in an attempt to break the line, fittings, hull or even overturning the dock. It is when a moored boat is brought up short or snubbed violently that damage is done to various components or else the lines break with the result that the boat goes adrift. The snubbing results from the factor of a fixed point to which the line is attached or against which the boat collides.

It is an object of the invention to provide a mooring device and snubber which holds a water craft adjacent a wharf at all times.

It is further object of the invention to provide a mooring device and snubber to provide effective dissipation of the energy imparted to the craft thus preventing its violent movement and resultant damage to the lines or craft.

SUMMARY The mooring device of the invention which is used in pairs for attachment to the craft comprises a downwardly extending tensioned rope or cable positioned over the water on which the craft is moored, the rope or cable being secured at one end at a fixed point. The tensioning of the cable may be effected by securing the other end to a fixed spring or alternatively attaching a weight thereto with the cable passing over a fixed sheave. The mooring line from the craft is attached to a ring secured to the tensioned cable, the ring being maintained in a selected position from the fixed end; preferably the cable is enclosed in material forming fender blocks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will now be described in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Patented Sept. 2, 1969 FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a mooring device according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view taken on the lines 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the lines 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmented view of an alternative embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic plan view showing a craft moored by a pair of devices according to the invention;

FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic representations of the movement of the bow of a craft when moored by a device according to the invention;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the accompanying drawings and more particularly to FIGURE 1, a mooring device, generally denoted by the numeral 10, is secured to a dock 12. To provide a base for attachment of the mooring device 10, a member 14 is secured to the dock 12. A preferred form of the member 14 is more particularly illustrated in FIG- URES 1 and 2 and it consists of a vertical arm 16 having at its lower end integral diverging horizontally disposed arms 18, 20 and 22, the latter being secured to the surface of the dock 12 by means of bolts 24. Reinforcing webs 26 extend from the vertical arm 16 of the member 14 to each of the integral arms 18, 20 and 22.

A channel 30 is secured to the outer face of the vertical arm 16 by means of machine screws 32. The sides 34 and 36 of the channel 30 extend outward from the dock 12. Each side 34 and 36 is provided with a pair of spaced apart apertures aligned in the horizontal plane.

The channel 30 is of suflicient length to provide support for a vertically disposed bar 40 which is provided with a series of spaced apart apertures 42 adjacent pairs of which are the same distance apart as the apertures in the channel 30. The bar 40 is adjustably located in the channel 30 by means of a pair of spaced apart retaining pins 44 which extend through the apertures 42 and the aligned apertures in the side 34 and 46 of the channel 30. The height of the bar 40 above the level of the water may be adjusted by relocation of the retaining pins 44 in selected adjacent pairs of apertures 42.

The upper end of the bar 40 is bent outwards with reference to the clock 12 to form an arm 46 which is shown in FIGURE 1 to extend substantially normal to the bar 40. However, the arm 46 may be inclined either upwardly or downwardly, the sole requirement being that it should extend outwardly of the dock 12. The outward end of the arm 46 has a slot in which is located a sheave 48 rotatably mounted on a shaft 50 carried in the arm 46. The lower end of the bar 40 is bent outwardly and then upwardly to form a slotted hook 52.

An apertured plate 54 projects from the upper surface of the arm 46 intermediate of its ends. The lower part of the plate 54 has reduced threaded portions 56 which traverses the arm 46. A nut 58 is threaded onto the reduced portion 56 to secure the plate 54 to the arm 46. Extending substantially parallel to the arm 46 is a turnbuckle 60 comprising of a threaded portion 62 which is located in the apertured plate 54. A nut 64 is located on the threaded portion 62 of the turnbuckle 60, the nut 64 being large enough to bear against the surface of the plate 54. The hooked end 66 of the turnbuckle '60 is ad jacent to the sheave 48. The loop 68 of a steel cable 70 is attached to the hooked end 66 of the turnbuckle 60. The steel cable 70 passes around the sheave 48 and then down through the surrounding slot. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 1 the lower end of the steel cable 70 has a loop 72 which is attached to one end 74 of a coiled spring 76. The lower end 78 of the spring 76 is secured to the slotted hook 52 formed at the lower end of the bar 40. The spring 76 places the steel cable 70 under tension, the degree of which may be adjusted by rotation of the turnbuckle 60.

A mooring member 80 surrounds the downwardly extending cable 70 at a selected position, intermediate of the upper fixed point represented by the sheave 48, and the spring 76. The craft 82 is attached to the mooring member 80 by means of a line 84. The location of the mooring member 80 is selected so that it is on a plane below the deck level of the craft 82 and the mooring member 80 is constructed so that it retreats laterally in the direction of the dock 12 on approach of the craft 82 towards the cable 70. In one arrangement shown in FIGURE 4 the mooring member 80 is a ring which is rotatable around the cable 70, the latter being located in an enlarged portion 86 of the body of the ring member 80. Furthermore, it is a preferred feature to cover the cable 70 between the sheave 48 and the spring 76 with a plurality of fender blocks 88 to prevent moving contact of the craft 82 with the dock 12; the fender blocks 88 are of the shape illustrated in FIGURE 1 though other shapes may be employed. The blocks 88 of the shape shown provide a convenient means of preventing sliding movement of the rotatable ring member 80 along the length of the cable 70.

The mooring device 10 provides a movable point of attachment for the line 84 or a movable point against which the craft 82 collides. In either event the point on the device 10 is moved out of its normal alignment with a consequent extension of the spring 76. As the spring 76 is extended work is done with the consumption of energy and as the extension of the spring 76 increases so also does the rate at which such work is done and energy is consumed. The mooring device 10 is intended to be used in pairs as shown in FIGURE 5. Although the bow and stem of the craft 82 are connected they each move to a large degree independently except that they both must move forward or aft together; the movement of the bow is diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 in the position respectively of the craft 82 being at rest, moved into the dock 12 and away therefrom.

In the alternative embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 4 the tension to the cable 70 is provided by passing it over a sheave 90 which is conveniently located in the slotted end 52 of the bar 40. A weight 92 is then attached to the end of the cable 70 extending below the sheave 90 to a point below the surface of the water and the lowest level of the craft 82.

While certain embodiments have been illustrated and described for the purpose of disclosure, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but contemplates such modifications and other embodiments as may be utilized without departing from the invention.

I claim:

1. A mooring device comprising an upwardly extending post secured intermediate of its ends to a clock, the upper end of said post having an angular extension extending outward of said dock over the adjacent water, a cable having one end secured to the end of said angular extension and depending therefrom, a spring secured to the lower end of said post, the upper end of said spring being secured to the lower end of said cable and tensioning same and means on said cable intermediate of its ends for securing a craft floating on said water.

2. A mooring device comprising an upwardly extending post secured intermediate of its ends to a dock, the upper end of said post having an angular extension extending outward of said dock' over the adjacent water, a cable having one end secured to the end of said angular extension and depending therefrom, a sheave secured to the lower end of said post, said cable passing over said sheave and a weight suspended at the lower end of said cable to tension same and means on said cable intermediate of its upper end and said sheave for securing a craft floating on said water.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein said means on said cable comprises a ring surrounding said cable, said ring being laterally movable with respect to said cable and means on said cable for maintaining said ring in a selected position.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein said means for maintaining said ring comprises fender blocks surrounding said cable.

5. A device according to claim 2 wherein said means on said cable comprises a ring surrounding said cable, said ring being laterally movable with respect to said cable and means on said cable for maintaining said ring in a selected position.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein said means for maintaining said ring comprises fender blocks surrounding said cable.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,686,535 10/1928 Schaurnan 29372 2,155,043 4/ 1939 Gorskey 114-230 3,001,371 9/1961 Gilmore et al 61465 X 3,060,885 10/1962 Nolf 114-230 3,187,706 6/1965 Ross 61-48 X 3,306,053 2/1967 Fulton 61-48 JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

